Virtual Hugs for Two Bereaved Sisters Show the Strength of Israel's Community

When two Israeli sisters, 11-year-old Noa and 10-year-old Ahava, placed second and third in their local gymnastics competition, they couldn't help but wish their mom was still alive. Writer Viva Sarah Press at ISRAEL21c tells us that the two girls lost their mother, Dafna, after she fell victim to a terror attack earlier this year.

But they aren't alone in their suffering.

Hoping to ease some of their pain, the girls' father, Natan, reached out to the people on Facebook, asking for support - and the response has been heartwarming, showing that Israelis will always support each other through times of terror.

“In the evening, the crying began – mom didn’t get to see this win. Where was mom’s hug? Why wasn’t she here to see?” he wrote in a public Facebook post...

“I offered to post a photo of them with their medals so that they could get a warm and loving hug from the people of Israel,” he wrote.

Within 12 hours, Natan's post fielded some 30,000 likes and thousands of comments. (The numbers are constantly rising.)

Comments included: “Bravo on a great achievement. Sending you warm hugs,” “We’re proud of you,” “Champions, your mother is watching over you,” “Mazal Tov girls! All of Israel is proud of you and your whole family,” and many similar sentiments.

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The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) funds humanitarian aid to the needy in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world, promotes prayer and advocacy on behalf of the Jewish state, and provides resources that help build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews.